FOCUS ON CORSHAM & CHIPPENHAM
Cover story :
MAKING HISTORY AT HARTHAM PARK
Corsham ’ s Hartham Park is a major part of Wiltshire ’ s heritage . It ’ s been a place to meet , host events and do business in different guises for centuries .
Its seen all of the revolutions , right the way through from the cultural revolution , to the first industrial revolution in iron and steel and then the rise of technology- what we call the fourth revolution .
Go back a thousand years and Hartham is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as a deer park or deer enclosure . It even gets Its name from a derivation of the word heorot , which in Saxon times meant deer .
If the walls of Hartham Park could talk they would have many a story to tell . The house has played host to military leaders , politicians , playwrights , businessmen and innovators .
Its current owner , Jeff Thomas is passionate about preserving the property ’ s history , but at the same time investing in its future , so that it continues to be a place people talk about for years to come . He has big ambitions for Hartham Park and has set in place a 100-year plan to turn the estate into a permanent innovation and educational zone .
We met Jeff to find out more about Hartham ’ s past , present and his vision for its future . From our exclusive interview , we have several instalments to share with you in the coming issues of The Business Exchange . Here we begin with its history .
THE PAST
The Goddards Hartham Park is the story of two houses and three families . The first family to mention is the Goddards . They originated from Somerset and ended their family journey at Stratton , near Swindon . They were of substantial wealth and owned properties in Hungerford , Monkton Farleigh , Cheney Court at Ditteridge and Rudloe Manor in Corsham . Hartham was home to the Goddards in the 15th Century and underneath the Hartham Park we see today is a Jacobean farmhouse .
The Ducketts The second family that made their mark on Hartham ’ s history were the Ducketts . The Ducketts came across with William the Conqueror and received 150,000 acres in thanks . The Ducketts had a house at Hartham , which is now under the car park . The house belonged to Lionel Duckett , one of the Merchant adventurers of the City of London and was four times Master of the Mercers ’ Company , and Lord Mayor of London in 1572 .
The Joys Originally , the Hartham Park estate would have been made up of two stately homes quite close together . It wasn ’ t until the 1830s that the properties known as Hartham Park and
Hartham House were brought together . At this time , it was under the ownership of American exile , Michael Joy . He was a renegade from the American War of Independence , he supported the British , unfortunately the British lost and he found it impossible to remain in America .
The Methuens Soon after the properties were brought together they were sold to Paul Methuen from Corsham Court . He had a big mortgage on it and only owned it for a few years as he couldn ’ t keep up the mortgage repayments and was forced to sell .
Notable Character- Lady Anne James Lady Anne James was a Goddard before she married her husband William James . Her family owned the estate at Hartham for over 400 years .
Lady Anne married William James , a miller ’ s son from Haverford West . With no education , he joined the East India Navy as a young man . He worked his way up to be captain of the ship and as captain he did some pretty heroic things off the coast of India near Mumbai , including protecting the fleet from notorious Indian pirates . For that he was promoted to Commodore of the Fleet . He retired from the East India Navy as a Commodore and he then became director of the East India Company before then rising to become Chairman of the East India Company .
When William James died , Lady Anne inherited all of his wealth and used it to invest in Hartham estate . She appointed the architect of the day , James Wyatt from London and asked him to remodel Hartham . James Wyatt spent four years redeveloping Hartham and there ’ s only one wall left from the original Jacobean house . He built the Hartham Park we see today and designed it to face due south .
Lady Anne James only lived in the house for four years before she died and left it to her nephew- Lord Rankin , who at the time was only one year old . It was rented out as one of his assets until he was 21 when he sold it immediately .
In the April / May edition of The Business Exchange , read about Hartham Park ’ s Halcyon days and how it became home to another strong female character , a place for partying and a space for innovative sports and well-being .
Hartham Park is an innovative business community set within this magnificent country estate in Corsham , and is a place to meet , work and host events . With flexible workspace , co-working facilities and a fantastic Café too , find out more by visiting www . harthampark . com or call their Business Centre on 01249 700 000
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2018 15